New collaborative cookbook 'Friends of STREAT' sheds light on young chefs who have rebuilt their lives through hospitality

‘Friends of STREAT’, the new cookbook by Melbourne-based social enterprise, STREAT, recently launched at QV’s Meat Fish Wine. To celebrate, guests were treated to an abundance of espresso martinis, bubbles and canapés. With 45 top Australian chefs chipping in to share some of their favourite recipes, this hefty 320+ page hardcover offering is dedicated to the many hundreds of young people that have participated in the STREAT program thus far.

This unique collaborative cookbook project is the brainchild of STREAT’s founder, Rebecca Scott. It features the stories of five amazing young people who have rebuilt their lives through life-skills support and vocational training in the hospitality industry. The spotlight is on their achievements, in addition to heart-warming notes from all 45 chefs. Within the pages of this culinary almanac, you will find nourishing recipes by the likes of Rebecca Ng and Karen Baston of Magic Mountain and Cookie, Joel Anderson from Hotel Windsor, Matt Lane of Mamasita, Adriano Zumbo of Zumbo, John McLeay and Noah Crowcroft of Red Spice Road, Shane Delia of Maha and more.

The book’s ambassador is renowned chef, Jacques Reymond, who says, “From my young days in France, hungry and poor and working shift after shift to survive, I can relate to today’s troubled and homeless youth and just say thank goodness for people like Rebecca Scott and all the team at her rapidly expanding non-profit STREAT.”

There are currently 5 inner-city STREAT cafes in Melbourne, providing youths with a stable self, stable job and stable home while offering a range of programs in hospitality. The proceeds from STREAT’s establishments have already funded 38,000 hours of training and support and helped keep over 450 young people off Melbourne’s streets. The new cookbook will be a major fundraiser for STREAT’s huge new training centre in Collingwood, enabling STREAT to double the current number of trainees in their programs to 250 a year. Each cookbook sold will also fund another 30 minutes of training and support.

The ‘Friends of STREAT’ cookbook retails at $69 and is available from all STREAT cafes as well as the STREAT website shop. For a full list of stockists, please visit http://www.streat.com.au